Telephoning from cars



o Model.)

' H. W. LIBBEY.

TELEPHONING FROM CARS IN MOTION.

No. 596,276. Patented Dec, 28,1897.

23%wf-M ATENT Erica,

HOSEA W. LIBBEY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

TELEPHONING FROM CA RS IN MOTION.

' SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 596,276, datedDecember 28, 1897.

Application filed April 6, 1897. flerial No. 630,925. (No model.)

- To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known, that I, HOSEA W. LIBBEY, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inTelephoning from Cars in Motion, of which the following, taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

My invention relates to means for telephoning from a railroad-car whilein motion to any desired point or station.

The invention consists in the arrangement and construction of theconnections between the telephone and an electric supply and in themeans for completing the circuit so as to transmit a message from thecar to any desired point or stati0n,ashereinafterdescribed, and pointedout in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a portion ofa railroadcar fitted witha telephone and the connections for making acircuit whereby a person can telephone from the car while in motion toany point or station. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of same. Fig.3 is asectional view of a rail, a portion of one of the wheels fitted with twocontact-rings, and a rail for supplying the electric fluid and areturn-rail for carrying off the same. Fig. 4 is a sectional view of theroad-bed and rails, showing how the electric current may be suppliedfrom one side and carried off on the other.

A represents the body of a car, 13 the truck, 0 O the wheels, and D theaxles, all of which may be of ordinary construction except the wheel 0,which wheel is provided with suitable contact-rings. I prefer toconstruct the wheel 0 with two contact-rings E E, of copper or othersuitable material, as shown in Fig. 3, in which the edge of the flangeof the wheel is formed with a half-round groove or recess 0, that'islined with a suitable insulating material 0, and a ring or hoop E, ofcopper or other good conductor, sprung or otherwise secured therein, andto the inner edge of the flange is secured a flat ring or hoop E, ofcopper or other good electric conductor, said ring being insulated fromthe wheel by any suitable insulating material.

In connection with wheels thus constructed to convey and return theelectric current I employ-two bars or rails F F, of copper or othersuitable conducting material, that are carried in the upper ends g offorked springs G, the lower ends of which are secured to the Web of therail H in any suitable manner, the bars F F being insulated from theforked ends of said springs. I I are trolleys. One, I, runs upon thering E in the flange of the wheel 0, and the other, 1, runs upon thering E on the inner side of the flange. To the trolley I, that suppliesthe electric current from the inner rail F, is attached a wire J, thatleads to a telephone K, the returnwire L of which connects with thetrolley I, that runs upon the ring or hoop E, secured to the inside ofthe flange of the wheel, which ring or hoop E is in contact with therail F, to which wires M are attached at the required points to connectwith a telephone atany station on the line or to a telephone at theterminal.

Instead of having two rails F F side by side they might be arranged oneon either side of the track, as shown in Fig. 4, in which case both ofthe wheels 0 would have to be formed with rings E in their flanges, orrings E may be secured to the side of said flanges, onlyone connectionon each side being required.

. Supposing the rail F, which carries the battery-current andsound-waves to the telephone on the car, and the rail E, which carriesthe current and sound-waves from the telephone on the car to telephonesat stations connected. therewith and from thence to ground, werearranged side by side, as shown in Fig. 3, the electric current would besupplied through the railF, then pass through the ringE in the edge ofthe flange of the wheel 0 and be taken off by the trolley I, and thenceconducted through a wire J to the telephone K, the circuit beingcompleted when the telephone is in operation by the wire L, passing tothe trolley I, thence to the ring or hoop E on the side of the flange ofthe wheel 0, and pass to the rail F, from which it is carried by wires Mto any desired point or station.

In cases Where it is found desirable to have the supply and return railson opposite sides of the track, as shown in Fig. 4, of course, only oneelectric rail F would have to be supported on each side by the springsG, and either the ring E in the flange of the Wheel or the ring E onsaid flange might be employed for makrial in or on its flange, trolleysrunning upon ing the contacts With said rails.

\Vhat I claim is- 1. In a railroad a Wheel having a ring of conductingmaterial let into the edge of its flange but insulated therefrom and aring of conducting material attached to the inner side of the flange butinsulated therefrom substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. In a railroad two electric rails carried by springs secured to theWeb of the rail, a Wheel or Wheels having rings of conducting matesaidrings in combination with a telephone and connections between thetelephone and I 5 trolleys substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses, on this 27th day of February, A.D. 1897.

IIOSEA XV. LIBBEY. lVitnesses CHAS. STEERE, EDWIN PLANTA.

